Method for fabricating leadframe-based semiconductor package with connecting pads top and bottom surfaces of carrier
A semiconductor package and a method for fabricating the same are provided. A leadframe including a die pad and a plurality of peripheral leads is provided. A carrier, having a plurality of connecting pads formed thereon, is attached to the die pad, wherein a planar size of the carrier s greater than that of the die pad, allowing the connecting pads on the carrier to be exposed from the die pad. At least a semiconductor chip is attached to a side of an assembly including the die pad and the carrier, and is electrically connected to the connecting pads of the carrier and the leads via bonding wires. A package encapsulant encapsulates the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant.
Latest Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. Patents:
- Electronic package and manufacturing method thereof
- Electronic package and manufacturing method thereof, and substrate structure
- INDUCTOR MODULE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
- ELECTRONIC PACKAGE, MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR THE SAME, AND ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
- ELECTRONIC PACKAGE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
This application is a divisional of copending application U.S. Ser. No. 12/228,379, filed on Aug. 11, 2008, which claims under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) the benefit of Taiwanese Application No. 096129512, filed Aug. 10, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor packages and manufacturing methods thereof, and more specifically, to a leadframe-based semiconductor package with an increased number of electrical input/output (I/O) connections and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventional leadframe semiconductor package, such as a quad flat package (QFP), has a manufacturing method that requires a die pad and a leadframe with a plurality of leads. A semiconductor chip is mounted on a die pad with a plurality of bonding wires electrically connected to the bonding pads of the semiconductor chip and the corresponding plurality of leads. Moreover, a package encapsulant is used to encapsulate the semiconductor chip and the bonding wires to form a leadframe semiconductor package.
The disadvantage of the conventional leadframe semiconductor package is that leads used for electrical input/output pins can only be aligned on the four peripheral sides of the package body, and therefore the number of I/O connections that this structure can provide is limited by the size of the package body. In order to solve the aforementioned problem, the ball grid array semiconductor package was then invented.
Conventional ball grid array (BGA) semiconductor package involves a manufacturing method that uses a substrate with a plurality of trace patterns on top and bottom surfaces. A semiconductor chip is mounted on the top of the substrate and bonding wires are used to interconnect bonding pads of the semiconductor chip and ends of the trace pattern on the top side of the substrate. Then, through the routing circuits internal to the substrate and the vias, the trace pattern on the top of the substrate is electrically connected to the trace pattern on the bottom of the substrate. The goal is to mount a solder ball on a solder ball pad, which is terminated by ends of the trace pattern on the bottom of the substrate. The solder ball electrically connects the semiconductor chip to the external device. More I/O connections can be obtained by I/O assignment on the whole substrate surface.
The fabrication process of the trace pattern on the top substrate surface, the internal conductive structures of the substrate and the trace layout on the bottom substrate surface is complicated and of a high cost for such a ball grid array semiconductor package, therefore such package structure is only capable of providing high density of I/O connections but has the drawback of high cost. Consequently, it is unable to satisfy the requirements of low cost and high I/O density in the industry.
For further information, referring to
However, the cost of the conventional ball-grid array (BGA) semiconductor package process is still too high and not accepted by the industry.
Referring to
However, the aforementioned process requires etching or cutting to separate the first leads, the process is not only complicated but also costly. Also the etched or cut part of the first leads can be easily broken and attacked by moisture due to insufficient encapsulating of the package encapsulant. In addition, the cross-sectional surface of the etched or cut part of the first leads can be easily oxidized, thus when the surface mount technology (SMT) is used to solder the packaged component onto the external device in the future, wetting of the tin will be ineffective, leading to defected soldering. Besides, when the arrangement of the first leads is of a high density, package molding can easily cause the electrical connection contacts of the bottom surface of the first leads to be encapsulated by resin flash of the package encapsulant during the package molding process, thereby requiring an additional undesired encapsulant removal process.
Therefore, a way to provide a leadframe semiconductor package that is of a low cost and capable of providing a plurality of additional electrical I/O connections, and its manufacturing method as well as a package structure that can at the same time be exempted from a separation process by etching and cutting, thereby preventing occurrence of cracks, humidification, ineffective wetting, encapsulant flash in the additional electrical I/O connections is the immediate subject that concerns the relevant industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn view of the above drawbacks in the conventional technology, an objective of the present invention is to provide a low-cost semiconductor package having a plurality of additional electrical I/O connections and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor package.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor package and a manufacturing method thereof, without the need of performing a separation process of etching or cutting.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor package and a manufacturing method thereof, which can prevent cracking of additional electrical I/O connections and moisture invasion.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor package and a manufacturing method thereof, which can prevent ineffective wetting of additional electrical I/O connections.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor package and a manufacturing method thereof, which can prevent resin flash to additional electrical I/O connections.
In order to achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides a manufacturing method of a semiconductor package, comprising the steps of: providing a leadframe and a carrier, with a plurality of connecting pads being formed on the carrier, wherein the leadframe comprises a die pad and a plurality of leads surrounding the die pad, and the die pad is attached to a top surface of the carrier, wherein a planar size of the carrier is larger than that of the die pad, allowing the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier to be exposed from the die pad; attaching at least a semiconductor chip to a side of an assembly comprising the die pad and the carrier; forming a plurality of bonding wires electrically connecting the semiconductor chip to the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier and the leads of the leadframe; and forming a package encapsulant encapsulating the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant. An attaching pad is formed on the top surface of the carrier, allowing the die pad of the leadframe to be attached to the attaching pad. The attaching pad is electrically connected to the connecting pads on the bottom surface of the carrier via conductive structures formed in the carrier.
A distance between the leads of the leadframe and the bottom surface of the carrier is slightly greater than a depth of a cavity of a mold used in forming the package encapsulant. Thereby, during a molding process for forming the package encapsulant, the carrier abuts against a wall of the cavity of the mold so as to prevent resin flash of the package encapsulant.
Further in the present invention, the semiconductor chip may be electrically connected to the die pad of the leadframe or the attaching pad of the carrier via grounding wires, so as to enhance the electrical performance of the semiconductor package. The planar size of the die pad of the leadframe can be made smaller than that of the semiconductor chip, such that the semiconductor chip may be electrically connected to the attaching pad of the carrier via grounding wires. Further, passive components can be mounted on and electrically connected to the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier so as to enhance the electrical performance of the semiconductor package. Moreover, the leadframe may be a quad flat non-leaded leadframe, such that bottom surfaces of the leads of the quad flat non-leaded leadframe and the bottom surface of the carrier are substantially coplanar with each other and are exposed from the package encapsulant.
The semiconductor chip can be directly attached to the die pad. Alternatively, an opening can be formed in the die pad of the leadframe, allowing the semiconductor chip to be placed in the opening of the die pad and attached to the carrier. The carrier may be covered with a soldermask layer. The soldermask layer is formed a plurality of openings for exposing the connecting pads on the carrier, allowing conductive components to be mounted to the exposed connecting pads, such that the semiconductor package can be electrically connected to an external device via the conductive components.
According to the aforementioned manufacturing method, the present invention provides a semiconductor package, comprising: a leadframe comprising a die pad and a plurality of leads surrounding the die pad, the die pad having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface; a carrier mounted to the bottom surface of the die pad, wherein a plurality of connecting pads are formed on the carrier, and a planar size of the carrier is greater than that of the die pad, allowing the connecting pads on a top surface of the carrier to be exposed from the die pad; at least a semiconductor chip attached to a side of an assembly comprising the die pad and the carrier, and electrically connected to the connecting pads of the carrier and the leads of the leadframe via bonding wires; and a package encapsulant encapsulating the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant.
Therefore, according to the semiconductor package and the manufacturing method thereof in the present invention, a carrier with a plurality of connecting pads being formed thereon is prepared and is then attached to a bottom surface of a die pad of a leadframe. A planar size of the carrier is larger than that of the die pad, such that the connecting pads of the carrier are exposed. At least a semiconductor chip is attached to a top surface of the die pad, and is electrically connected to the connecting pads of the carrier and the leads of the leadframe via a plurality of bonding wires.
Subsequently, a package encapsulant is formed to encapsulate the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant. In this way, the connecting pads of the carrier can be used to increase electrical input/output (I/O) connections of the chip, without the need of providing additional leads in the die pad as in the conventional technology. Consequently, the undesirable increase in the complexity of fabrication processes due to the need of performing a deflash process for removing resin flash incurred in a molding process as in the conventional technology, can be eliminated in the present invention. Further, the undesirable increase in the complexity of fabrication processes and the fabrication cost due to the need of a separation process for the additional leads as in the conventional technology, can be eliminated in the present invention. Moreover, the degraded bonding in the semiconductor package due to cracks and moisture invading (caused by insufficient encapsulating of the package encapsulant after separation of the additional leads) and due to ineffective wetting of a solder material (caused by oxidation) as in the conventional technology, can be avoided in the present invention.
Illustrative embodiments of a semiconductor package and a manufacturing method thereof provided in the present invention are described as follows with reference to
First Embodiment
As shown in
The connecting pads 311 on the top surface of the carrier 31 are electrically connected to the connecting pads 311 on the bottom surface of the carrier 31 by conductive structures 313 (such as vias) formed in the carrier 31. At least attaching pad 312 is disposed on the top surface of the carrier 31. The leadframe 32, the attaching pad 312 and the connecting pads 311 are each primarily made of copper and plated with a metal layer (such as a nickel/gold layer) for connecting bonding wires. The die pad 320 of the leadframe 32 is attached to the attaching pad 312 on the top surface of the carrier 31. The attaching pad 312 can be electrically connected to the connecting pad 311 on the bottom surface of the carrier 31 the conductive structures 313 formed in the carrier 31. In this way, a semiconductor chip (not shown) can be electrically connected to an external device through the die pad 320 of the leadframe 32, the attaching pad 312, the conductive structures 313 and the connecting pads 311. In the present invention, the carrier 31 can be fabricated more easily than the conventional ball grid array (BGA) substrate and does not require complicated circuit design and layout, thereby effectively saving the fabrication cost.
As shown in
Next, a plurality of bonding wires 34 are formed to electrically connect the semiconductor chip 33 to the connecting pads 311 on the top surface of the carrier 31 and the leads 322 of the leadframe 32. A molding process is performed to form a package encapsulant 35 for encapsulating the semiconductor chip 33, the bonding wires 34, a part of the carrier 31 and a part of the leadframe 32. In addition, the bottom surface of the carrier 31 and outer portions of the leads 322 are exposed from the package encapsulant 35.
As shown in
In this way, the connecting pads 311 of the carrier 31 can be used to provide additional electrical I/O connections for the semiconductor chip 33.
By the aforementioned manufacturing method, the present invention provides a semiconductor package, including: a leadframe 32 comprising a die pad 320 and a plurality of leads 322 surrounding the die pad 320, the die pad 320 having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface; a carrier 31 attached to the bottom surface of the die pad 320, wherein a plurality of connecting pads 311 are formed on the carrier 1, and a planar size of the carrier 31 is larger than that of the die pad 320, allowing the connecting pads 311 on a top surface of the carrier 31 to be exposed from the die pad 20; at least a semiconductor chip 33 attached to the top surface of the die pad 320, and electrically connected to the connecting pads 31 of the carrier 31 and the leads 322 of the leadframe 32 via a plurality of bonding wires 34; a package encapsulant 35 encapsulating the semiconductor chip 33, the bonding wires 34, a part of the carrier 31 and a part of the leadframe 32, allowing the bottom surface of the carrier 31 and outer portions of the leads 322 to exposed from the package encapsulant 35.
Therefore, according to the semiconductor package and the manufacturing method thereof in the present invention, a carrier with a plurality of connecting pads being formed thereon is prepared and is then attached to a bottom surface of a die pad of a leadframe. A planar size of the carrier is larger than that of the die pad, such that the connecting pads of the carrier are exposed. At least a semiconductor chip is attached to a top surface of the die pad, and is electrically connected to the connecting pads of the carrier and the leads of the leadframe via a plurality of bonding wires. Subsequently, a package encapsulant is formed to encapsulate the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant. in this way, the connecting pads of the carrier can be used to increase electrical input/output (I/O) connections of the chip, without the need of providing additional leads in the die pad as in the conventional technology. Consequently, the undesirable increase in the complexity of fabrication processes due to the need of performing a deflash process for removing resin flash incurred in a molding process as in the conventional technology, can be eliminated in the present invention. Further, the undesirable increase in the complexity of fabrication processes and the fabrication cost due to the need of a separation process for the additional leads as in the conventional technology, can be eliminated in the present invention. Moreover, the degraded bonding in the semiconductor package due to cracks and moisture invading (caused by insufficient encapsulating of the package encapsulant after separation of the additional leads) and due to ineffective wetting of a solder material (caused by oxidation) as in the conventional technology, can be avoided in the present invention.
Second Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this second embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiment, with a primary difference in that the second embodiment provides the semiconductor chip with a grounding function, thereby further enhancing the electrical performance of the package.
As shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
Third Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this third embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiments, with a primary difference in that an opening 3200 is formed in the die pad 320 of the leadframe 32, allowing the semiconductor chip 33 to be placed in the opening 3200 and attached to the attaching pad 312 of the carrier 31.
Moreover, the semiconductor chip 33 can be electrically connected via grounding wires 34′to the attaching pad 312 exposed within the opening 3200 of the die pad 320. The attaching pad 312 is primarily made of copper and plated with a metal layer (such as a nickel/gold layer) for connecting the bonding wires. Further, the attaching pad 312 can be electrically connected to the connecting pads 311 on the bottom surface of the carrier 31 via the conductive structures 313 formed in the carrier 31.
Fourth Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this fourth embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiments, with a primary difference in that the bottom surface of the carrier 31 is covered by a soldermask layer 36. The soldermask layer 36 is formed with a plurality of openings for exposing the connecting pad 311 of the carrier 31, and conductive components 37 are mounted to the exposed connecting pads 311, so as to provide a high density of electrical I/O connections. Moreover, the conductive components 37 allow the package to be more easily electrically connected to an external device (such as printed circuit board, PCB).
Fifth Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this fifth embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiments, a primary difference in that the planar size of the die pad 320 of the leadframe 32 can be made smaller than that of the semiconductor chip 33 in order to reduce the contact area between the semiconductor chip 33 and the die pad 320, thereby preventing delamination between the semiconductor chip 33 and the die pad 320 due to their mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermal stress. Further, the semiconductor chip 33 is allowed to be electrically connected to the attaching pad 312 of the carrier 31 via grounding wires 34′, so as to enhance the electrical performance of the package.
Sixth Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this sixth embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiments, with a primary difference in that passive components 38 are attached to and electrically connected to the connecting pads 311 on the top surface of the carrier 31, so as to enhance the electrical functionality and performance of the package.
Seventh Embodiment
The semiconductor package in this seventh embodiment is generally the same as that of the above embodiments, with a primary difference in that a quad flat non-leaded leadframe 32′ is used, and a die pad 320′ is attached to the carrier 31. Additionally, the bottom surface of the carrier 31 and bottom surfaces of leads 322′ of the quad flat non-leaded leadframe 32′ are substantially coplanar with each other. The, chip attachment, wire bonding and molding processes are performed, and the package encapsulant 35 is formed to encapsulate the semiconductor chip 33, the bonding wires 34, the leadframe 32′ and the carrier 31, with the bottom surface of the carrier 31 and the bottom surfaces of the leads 322′ of the quad flat non-leaded leadframe 32′ being exposed from the package encapsulant 35.
The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Claims
1. A manufacturing method of a semiconductor package, comprising the steps of:
- providing a leadframe and a carrier, with a plurality of connecting pads being formed on the carrier, wherein the leadframe comprises a die pad and a plurality of leads surrounding the die pad, and the die pad is attached to a top surface of the carrier, wherein a planar size of the carrier is larger than that of the die pad, allowing the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier to be exposed from the die pad, and wherein the plurality of connecting pads are formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the carrier, and the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier are electrically connected to the connecting pads on the bottom surface of the carrier via conductive structures formed in the carrier;
- attaching at least a semiconductor chip to a side of an assembly comprising the die pad and the carrier;
- forming a plurality of bonding wires for electrically connecting the semiconductor chip to the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier and the leads of the leadframe; and
- forming a package encapsulant for encapsulating the semiconductor chip, the bonding wires, a part of the carrier and a part of the leadframe, allowing a bottom surface of the carrier and a part of the leads to be exposed from the package encapsulant.
2. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein an attaching pad is formed on the top surface of the carrier, allowing the die pad of the leadframe to be attached to the attaching pad.
3. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 2, wherein the attaching pad is electrically connected to the connecting pads on the bottom surface of the carrier via conductive structures formed in the carrier.
4. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip is electrically connected to one of the die pad and the attaching pad via at least a grounding wire.
5. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip is electrically connected to the die pad via at least a grounding wire and the die pad is electrically connected to the attaching pad via at least another grounding wire.
6. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 2, wherein a planar size of the die pad of the leadframe is smaller than that of the semiconductor chip, and the semiconductor chip is electrically connected to the attaching pad of the carrier via at least a grounding wire.
7. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein a distance between bottom surfaces of the leads of the leadframe and the bottom surface of the carrier is greater than a depth of a cavity of a mold for forming the package encapsulant.
8. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip is attached to a top surface of the die pad.
9. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein an opening is formed in the die pad of the leadframe, allowing the semiconductor chip to be placed in the opening.
10. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 9, wherein the semiconductor chip is attached to the top surface of the carrier.
11. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein an attaching pad is formed on the top surface of the carrier, allowing the semiconductor chip to be attached to the attaching pad exposed within the opening of the die pad.
12. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 11, wherein the semiconductor chip is electrically connected via at least a grounding wire to the attaching pad exposed within the opening of the die pad.
13. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein the carrier is covered with a soldermask layer, and the soldermask layer is formed with openings for exposing the connecting pads, allowing conductive components to be mounted to the connecting pads exposed within the openings of the soldermask layer.
14. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein passive components are attached to and electrically connected to the connecting pads on the top surface of the carrier.
15. The manufacturing method of a semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein the leadframe is a quad flat non-leaded leadframe, and bottom surfaces of the leads of the quad flat non-leaded leadframe and the bottom surface of the carrier are exposed from the package encapsulant.
4763188 | August 9, 1988 | Johnson |
5283717 | February 1, 1994 | Hundt |
5365409 | November 15, 1994 | Kwon et al. |
5386141 | January 31, 1995 | Liang et al. |
5420758 | May 30, 1995 | Liang |
5438478 | August 1, 1995 | Kondo et al. |
5440169 | August 8, 1995 | Tomita et al. |
5502289 | March 26, 1996 | Takiar et al. |
5508556 | April 16, 1996 | Lin |
5708567 | January 13, 1998 | Shim et al. |
5854512 | December 29, 1998 | Manteghi |
6093960 | July 25, 2000 | Tao et al. |
6483187 | November 19, 2002 | Chao et al. |
6713864 | March 30, 2004 | Huang |
6784530 | August 31, 2004 | Sugaya et al. |
6831352 | December 14, 2004 | Tsai |
6876068 | April 5, 2005 | Lee et al. |
6906414 | June 14, 2005 | Zhao et al. |
7074647 | July 11, 2006 | Owens et al. |
7122406 | October 17, 2006 | Yilmaz et al. |
7132314 | November 7, 2006 | Matsunami |
7132753 | November 7, 2006 | St. Amand et al. |
7166905 | January 23, 2007 | Shah |
7245007 | July 17, 2007 | Foster |
7357294 | April 15, 2008 | Liu et al. |
20020025352 | February 28, 2002 | Miyajima |
20050009239 | January 13, 2005 | Wolff et al. |
20050017352 | January 27, 2005 | Lee |
20050092339 | May 5, 2005 | Laukala |
20050253253 | November 17, 2005 | Chiang et al. |
20060071351 | April 6, 2006 | Lange |
20060261453 | November 23, 2006 | Lee et al. |
20100259908 | October 14, 2010 | Sutardja |
Type: Grant
Filed: Nov 21, 2013
Date of Patent: Sep 8, 2015
Patent Publication Number: 20140080264
Assignee: Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (Taichung)
Inventors: Chang-Yueh Chan (Taichung), Chih-Ming Huang (Taichung), Chun-Yuan Li (Taichung), Chih-Hsin Lai (Taichung)
Primary Examiner: Caleb Henry
Application Number: 14/086,142
International Classification: H01L 21/00 (20060101); H01L 23/00 (20060101); H01L 23/495 (20060101); H01L 21/56 (20060101);